Star Wars The Old Republic
by JohnnyHarder
Summary: Set 300 years after Knights of the Old Republic, and roughly 3,500 years before the rise of Darth Vader, this follows one young Jedi in his own epic journey, and discover his own destiny. Read and Review
1. Chapter 1

The man dressed in white clutched the baby close his chest as he kept his legs pumping harder and harder, sprinting through the cold and dark street. Sweat perspired down his forehead as the baby managed to eerily sleep through the man's rough speed. He sidestepped into an alleyway and slowly peeked around the corner. He cursed under his breath at the sight of the columns of storm troopers marching down the streets, led by one dark individual in a black cloak.

He smiled down at the baby boy snuggling deeper into the bundle of blankets, his job for the past six weeks having been to protect him from harm, a task easier said than done since they had been on the run for half that amount of time. He kept running down the alleyway when he found just what he was looking for, a speeder docked next to the gaping maw that was Coruscant's bottomless canyons of towers and buildings. Placing the baby gently in the passenger seat as he hopped in, the man ignited the speeder and slowly sped off. Gazing back at the alleyway he had just left, he saw the man in black looking back at him as the white storm troopers marched past him.

The man in black gave a harsh groan in frustration as he charged for the speeder. The man hit the accelerator and sped into the traffic lanes of Coruscant's bustling metropolis. Looking back, he saw the man still running to the end of the docking pier and give a spectacular leap, cover well over fifty meters. The dark man hung in the air for several long moments and then landed miraculously on a speeder flying right behind the man and his baby boy.

The man cursed again, slowly set the speeder to autopilot, hopped out his seat (thanking that the speeder he had chosen had no top), and walked to the back end of the speeder, where he was nearer his opponent, who was standing on the speeder behind him. Looking down, the man became almost nauseous, their seemed to be no ground in sight, only many speeders in their traffic lanes. He looked back up to the man in black, who was leering.

"Why are you doing this?" The man in white cried in sudden despair.

The man in black sneered. "Because you lacked the courage to do it yourself." He said menacingly.

In almost perfect unison, the two took out their lightsabers and swung for the other's head. The blades crossed pushed against each other. The man in black broke off the lock and swung for the man in white's legs, but was met with a parry and was knocked off balance.

The man in black took the opportunity and leaped, twisting upside down in midair, over the man in black and swung for his legs. His red blade was barely met with the blue blade of the man in white and they locked. Realizing that his opponent was in between himself and the infant boy, the man in white grabbed the wrist of his enemy and twisted himself around, reversing positions.

The dark hunter grunted in frustration, broke the lock and took a step back, nearing the edge of the speeder. For a moment, the two adversaries simply looked at each other, the wind howling around them.

"Why do you want to kill him?" The Jedi called over the wind. "He hasn't done anything and he's just a boy!"

"It's not what he _has_ done that I'm afraid of, but what he _will_ do." Replied the Sith venomously.

"We were friends, Joni." The white robed man called in despair. "Why are we doing this?"

The man called Joni paused. "You chose your path," he said with quiet regret. "mine was chosen for me…." Joni paused and looked down in shame.

"You have no idea what he is going to be capable of. That boy will one day grow into a man. He'll grow strong, and he'll grow angry. Give the boy to me, and I'll tell the Emperor you were dead when we found you," Joni said with resolution.

"You are lost if you think I would give him to you!" The Jedi called back. "And insane to believe that the Emperor wouldn't know you were lying,"

Joni grinned wolfishly, "I've grown more powerful than him, old friend, and far more powerful than you." He re-ignited his lightsaber.

Focusing his thoughts, the Jedi pushed focused his power and used the Force to push Joni. The result was more than he expected, as his old friend sailed through the dark, cold air as though he had been catapulted. The Jedi frowned with regret and sat back down into the pilot's seat, the baby still sound asleep.

The speeder came to a halt and the Jedi hopped out with the baby to one of the many sidewalks of Coruscant's shipyards.

He walked quickly to a nearby hooded figure, who was leaning against the wall.

"Sandra," he whispered. The woman turned. With angelic features, brown hair and eyes, she was beautiful, and immediately ran toward the man and the baby.

"Hurry, the transport's this way," she said, ushering them to the docking bay she had been guarding.

"Shen, what took you so long, we're supposed to be on our way to Dantooine!" she berated him.

"We ran into Joni, he jumped onto the speeder from nearly a hundred meters away," he said grimly. She cursed under her breath while examining the baby for injuries.

"Okay, 4D," she said motioning her nearby protocol droid to come closer. "Get Jack on the ship and stay there until you go to Dantooine. We'll be along shortly."

"But, Mistress, the transport leaves in less than five minutes…."the copper protocol droid began.

"We're just going to sweep the area and make sure we weren't followed," Shen cut off. The two Jedi sped off, the sprints enhanced by the Force as the protocol droid hobbled onto the large passenger ship.

"Jack?" Shen muttered with a grin. "You finally decided on a name?"

Sandra smiled radiantly, but as quickly as the smile came, the expression of shock and terror came replaced it even faster. Fanning out in a circle around the hangar, Sith troopers rushed in rank and file. Sandra counted at least two whole regiments, and thanked the Force when the ships engines keyed on and began hovering over the ground. "Go, go, go..." Shen urged willingly as the ship lifted off and ascended into the lower atmosphere. Suddenly the ship gave a lurch and Shen could feel the fear and dread in Sandra through the Force.

The ship seemed to be being dragged backwards, as though an invisible rope was pulling it back to the hangar. Joni walked out of the doorway, hand outstretched as though he were trying to grab the out of reach star ship.

"What can we do?" Sandra hissed under her breath. "We can't let Jack go to the Empire," Desperation dripped on her voice.

Shen immediately knew what he had to do. He looked at Sandra, cupped her chin in his thumb and forefinger, and kissed her passionately. A lifetime was captured in moments, and the whole universe seemed to zoom into the few cubic meters that was the space between the two.

He kissed her goodbye. "I love you," He whispered.

Using the Force, he hurled himself at Joni, lightsaber drawn. Joni's concentration broke and he immediately drew his own lightsaber to block Shen's thrust. They met in midair for the second time that night, when two regiments of blaster fire cut their way into Shen's body, extinguishing his life forever.

In the instant that it happened, Sandra hadn't even realized he would die until his burned, still smoking body hit the floor, charred holes burned through his fine white tunic. Sandra screamed and immediately her soul cried for vengeance and the stormtroopers took aim.

"No! Hold your fire!" Joni shouted. "Hold your fire, I say! Stand down, men!"

"You! You….traitor! You….monster!" Sandra screamed, igniting her purple lightsaber.

"Sandra, don't do this," Joni said calmly, despite the vein bulging from his temple. He looked to the clear sky. "Blast, he got away. Shen accomplished his mission, then."

Joni kneeled next to the body of his late adversary. "May you find peace, my brother." He rose to face Sandra with something approaching compassion in his eyes.

"You're coming with me, I need to show the Emperor a hostage, and you're son's exodus makes that you."

Mirthless laughter escaped Sandra's lips. "You've made the worst mistake ever, Joni. My son will grow, and he will find me."

Joni stopped and stared at her for a moment.

"Who was his father, Sandra?" He asked demandingly.


	2. Chapter 2

**Fifteen Years Earlier**

Sweat ran down Shen's face as he finished his last lap around the Jedi Temple. Tython's air was moist, almost humid, the ancient birthplace of the Jedi Order. Master Onarut, who strongly resembled the ancient Jedi Master Vandar, waited for him at the Temple's entrance alone, the rest of the Padawans were behind Shen. Shen stopped in front of Onarut and paused to bend over and catch his breath.

"Rise, Shen. Stand straight and let your lungs take in the air, you must." Onarut purred calmly.

Shen exhaled and inhaled rapidly, ten laps around the whole width of the Temple in a dead sprint had nearly exhausted him, and his legs and chest cried for water and rest. "Yes, Master Onarut." Shen said nodding, rising to his full height of roughly a meter and a half, and put his hands on his hips.

"Become routine, have these exercises, young Padawan?" Onarut questioned with amusement in his voice.

Shen nodded as more of the students rushed around him, mimicking his position. "Good. Form a line and file into the Council chambers, you all shall, once the remainders of our group join us."

The small group that had finished first waited patiently, all of them using relaxation techniques as one by one, the stragglers joined them. "Very well, into the Council chambers, you shall go."

Shen took a moment to look at his surroundings. Tython was a planet of forests, gorges, and mountains, a peaceful place perfect for a learning place of the Jedi Order. Since it had become the most recent home to the Jedi High Council, the massive stoneTemple had been augmented with an enormous hangar. The Temple stood in the shadow of a mountain which summated into the vast, forest valley.

Shen's thoughts were refocused as he entered the cooling shade of the entrance hall to the Temple as Master Onarut led the group into the circular room that was the Jedi High Council Chambers. Sitting in a circle around the room was the nine members of the Jedi Council. The students formed a perfect square formation and sate criss-crossed, not one of them older than ten years old.

The Jedi Master in front of them, an elder female human, stood in front of them as Master On rut took his seat in the circle. The female Master, Master Kreia, spoke with careful dignity. She had a stern look on her face, one that spoke of wisdom and experience.

"You have all been raised in the solace of this last Temple of the Jedi Order. Now, finally, the time has come for your Masters to be assigned to you." The twenty children whispered anxiously amongst themselves and Master Kreia raised a hand for silence.

"Before you begin this next part of your training, you must be educated on the current events of the galaxy today. For this, we look to the Chronicler of the Academy, Master Elbat."

An ancient human male stepped forward from his seat. His age was apparent in the way walked, as though his joints ached and groaned with each movement.

"For an explanation of today, we must look in years past. Our tale begins some three hundred years ago. The Mandalorians had been defeated because of the Jedi who followed Revan and Malak to war. The Republic began to rebuild and Revan and Malak, claiming to be following the Mandalorian remnants, disappeared into the Unknown Regions. In truth, Revan and Malak were searching for the Star Forge, an ancient artifact built by the Rakatan Infinite Empire nearly thirty thousand years ago. The Star Forge siphoned energy from the nearby sun to create a nearly infinite supply of ships. Revan and Malak were seduced to the dark side by the Star Forge, and built a vast armada with the purpose of overthrowing the Republic.

"One year after they disappeared, Revan and Malak returned to Republic space at the head of an invasion fleet, calling themselves Sith. They won battle after battle until a young Jedi named Bastila Shan defeated and captured Revan. The Jedi Council wiped away his memories and let him go, under the close but undetected supervision of Bastila. Eventually, events caused Revan to return to the Jedi Enclave on Dantooine, undertake Jedi training, and set out on a quest to find the Star Forge with a band of followers, including Bastila. At an unknown point, Revan was confronted by his former apprentice, Darth Malak, who revealed Revan's true identity.

"Later, a duel commenced between them and Revan was victorious. Revan's redemption was as triumphant as it was haunted. A year after the defeat of Malak, Revan vanished into the Unknown Regions, claiming he was searching for the 'True Sith'. He took no one with him, and he was never heard from again.

Another Jedi went after him, four years later. This Jedi had been one of Revan's best Generals in the Mandalorian Wars, and he was also never heard from again."

Master Elbat paused, a melancholy expression on his face.

"Today, the supposed 'True Sith Empire' that Revan went searching for in the Unknown Regions has resurfaced. It has invaded the Republic _en masse_, sacked the capital of Coruscant, and forced the Republic into a humiliating surrender. As a result, the Republic has lost faith in the Jedi's ability to effectively protect the Republic and has replaced us with the Republic Special Forces. There is peace between the Republic and the Empire, but it is a tense one. And it is, I suppose a matter of time before war breaks out…."

Master Elbat sighed with sadness and took his seat. Kreia stepped forward once more to address the students.

Somewhere in between the story, several Knights and Masters had filed into the room, presumably to begin training with their new Padawans.

"Since the dawn of our Order, there have been Masters and apprentices. You will all now be a part of that tradition with the rank of Padawan." She began to list off names as the children found their Masters.

"Shen Elatam with Master Selegna," Kreia finally called. One of the human Masters from the Council stepped forward. The Jedi was male, and looked at the tired age of mid-forties. Selgna was tall, powerfully built, with small gray hairs flicking in his brown hair. Shen bowed politely from the waist forward, which was returned.

"Hello, Padawan." Was the greeting.

"Hello, Master." Shen replied.


	3. Chapter 3

The cool, smoky, and musky air of the cantina gently kissed Jack Elatam's sweaty brow as he ordered another drink from the Quarren bartender. The slight buzz had been gently humming between his ears as he kicked back the shot again. He had grown up on Ord Mantell, with his old protocol droid 4D-0T, the only family he had ever had, since he was a baby. He had grown up in the many under-funded schools, and finally he had gotten a job when he was sixteen working as smuggler for Rotuga the Hutt.

Rotuga had taken him in, given shelter to Jack and 4D, set him up with the _Nebula Cruiser_'s captain so he could learn how to fly different ships. He quickly learned the criminal trade and become a good pilot. When he was a baby, 4D would show Jack holographic films of his parents, Jedi both, but Jack had long since requested him to stop.

Wherever his parents were, they couldn't help him, only Jack could.

Jack kicked back another shot and felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around to see a woman with a bright, determined face with reddish blonde hair and steel-cold eyes. Her facial features were attractive and

"I hear you're the one to talk to about-"she started but Jack pressed a finger to his lips for silence.

"We'll talk somewhere more private," he said, gesturing to one of the cantina's booths.

Sitting down on opposite sides of the table, leaned back and relaxed. "Now start with your name."

"Ava, my name is Ava." She began. "And I need off this planet…..immediately." Her eyes plead a quiet desperation that spoke of humility and desperation.

"Where are you going?" The only question Jack had ever needed to know. Not 'why?'

Not 'how come'.

Not 'are you in any trouble'.

Just 'where are you going'. That was all that he ever needed.

It was all he ever wanted.

Ava's eyebrows rose almost imperceptibly in surprise. "You'll take me?" she breathed.

"I didn't say that," Jack said coldly. "I asked where you were going."

"Tython." She said hesitantly, sitting up slightly more straighter.

Jack sneered contemptuously, "Going to have some cryptic answers from the Jedi?"

Her blue eyes went from hopeful to bitter, "What difference does it make to you?" she spat back venomously.

The smuggler sat back in his chair and relaxed. "I suppose it doesn't," he replied nonchalantly. "When can you be ready to leave?"

"How fast can we be out of here?" She asked eagerly.

"As fast as you can grab everything you need," He replied coolly. "Docking bay nine-oh-eight. I'll meet you there in…." he check his chronometer. "half an hour."

She bowed her head in thanks and they both stepped out of the booth. Ava immediately walked towards the exit, and Jack hadn't noticed the hold-out blaster holstered to her hip. Her black jumpsuit moved through the crowd like a shadow, and Jack ordered another shot and walked out the door.

"I know what you're thinking," a human male said quietly from right beside him. Jack's head only inched to the right, barely acknowledging that the man had even spoken. "You're wondering why she needs to go to Tython." It was a declaration, a statement of a fact. The man threw his head back with the shot and recoiled slightly with a grunt.

"Were you listening…?" Jack asked as he motioned to the bartender to fill him up. His strong tolerance to the alc keeping away the fuzziness that had obviously consumed the other man.

"I wasn't listening, but I know what she said." Came the cryptic reply. "You think that you're the first captain she's hit up? Nobody's stupid enough to take _her_ for any kind of charter."

Jack's intrigue had sparked. "What's wrong with her?" He finally looked directly at the man, he was gruff, pale, and middle aged; his world weary eyes told a certain cynical point of view.

"Look, just don't show up at that hangar bay, alright?" came the short answer.

"And what should I do?" Jack sneered back. Who was this creepy old man to poke his nose into _his_ business?

"You should get out of here. Now. Fast. Trouble follows that woman everywhere she goes." He got up, flicked a credit coin in payment for Jack's drink, and walked away.

Jack motioned for the bartender again, and the Ithorian shuffled over. "Who was that guy?"

A rarity among Ithorians, this one spoke Basic, "Never seen him before in my life."


End file.
